Nowadays

natural gas hydrates are recognized as an important future energy in 21 Century. Pressure

temperature

the contact area of gas and water

surfactant and other factors affect its formation. The basic properties of the surfactant are introduced in the present paper

and the effects of surfactant on the formation of hydrates are summarized from the changes of surface tension of liquids for gas hydrates formation

micelle formation and the hydrate morphology. The mechanism of surfactant promoting gas hydrates formation is then put forward. In order to form a unified understanding on hydrate formation mechanism

the hydrate form is not only observed

the influence of the surfactant on the formation of the hydrate is also analyzed from the internal structure of the hydrate film for the future research.